Psilocybin and Autism Spectrum Disorders
An experimental medical study (PSILAUT) at King’s College London and other institutions is investigating how low doses of psilocybin (2 mg and 5 mg) affect the serotonin system – particularly the 5-HT₂A receptors – in vivo in autistic versus non-autistic adults. The aim is to shed light on potential differences in brain regulation and to enable targeted clinical treatments in the future (rsdjournal.org, BioMed Central).

The study employs multimodal techniques such as fMRI and EEG to observe how brain activity “shifts” under psilocybin compared with placebo. The results could provide groundbreaking insights into serotonergic neurobiology in autism (BioMed Central).

In addition, media reports confirm that King’s College London is conducting a mechanistic study with psilocybin in autistic adults – the first of its kind (journals.lww.com, kcl.ac.uk, BioMed Central).

A review article suggests that psychedelics may enhance emotional processing and reduce psychological barriers – mechanisms that could theoretically also be relevant in autism (pubs.acs.org, PMC).

 

MDMA and Autism Spectrum Disorders
A randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled pilot study (n=12; 8 MDMA vs. 4 placebo) investigated MDMA-assisted psychotherapy for social anxiety in autistic adults. The results showed a marked reduction in social anxiety, with an effect size (Cohen’s d) of 1.4 at treatment and 1.1 after six months (ScienceDirect, PMC, Wikipedia).

A review in Research, Society and Development supports these more recent findings and shows that MDMA may improve social adaptability and reduce anxiety – consistent with patient reports and earlier case studies (rsdjournal.org).

Research protocols sponsored by MAPS describe a Phase 2 dose-finding study of MDMA-assisted therapy with the goal of estimating effect size and safety in this group (maps.org).

Nick Walker, who contributed to the project, noted that the MDMA study results showed sustained reductions in anxiety at the 6-month follow-up (Wikipedia).

Furthermore, a more recent literature review (2021) compiled the available findings and called for further research on MDMA-assisted therapy for social anxiety in autistic adults (time.com, Frontiers, maps.org).

 

Own experiences:
In our own client work, we have also observed good results with both MDMA and psilocybin – particularly in terms of emotional empathy.